8 Differences between a Dedicated Server and Cloud Computing

8 Differences between a Dedicated Server and Cloud Computing

Looking for a perfect option to host your company website? Here are the two most important choices that are available to you in the form of a dedicated server and a cloud computing execution model. Helping you to understand the differences between these two platforms, the following section explains the important features of these variants in detail.

What is a Dedicated Server?

A dedicated server is a perfect web hosting option for large and medium-sized organizations. If you are a part of the IT operations of one such companies, then you will be driven by a basic need to exclusively utilize your web hosting capabilities without wanting to share your server with other companies or individuals. To avail this benefit, you need to sign up with a dedicated server hosting provider who will maintain the performance and security of your company’s site.

In addition to securing your sensitive information, a dedicated server allows you to entirely consume resources like RAM, disk space and quality bandwidth. The round-the-clock expert maintenance of your server coming from the technicians of the service provider is another guaranteed benefit of dedicated server hosting enterprises.

Along with these operational benefits, you can also save money in the long run by cutting down your maintenance overheads. Office space can be saved when an agreement with the service provider can also bring down your hardware costs and the cost of planning for a software update. You can also have the freedom of choosing the type operating system you want (whether it is Windows or Linux).

What is a Cloud Server?

A cloud server is remotely managed by a cloud hosting provider who maintains the performance of your website along with the benefits of data security and resource control. Also called as server less computing, this arrangement allows your website to be hosted on a “virtual” space sparing you the worries concerning server management and capacity planning. These are the important parameters that are taken care of by the cloud hosting provider.

Depending on your changing business needs, cloud solutions come with a flexibility to scale up your resources along with a provision to pay only for those services that you and your company utilize over the cloud.

Minimizing the risks associated with the purchase of capital assets and in-house maintenance of huge servers, cloud computing comes as an affordable and scalable option for many companies. Along with a promise to deliver superior website performance, you can also avail the professional services of a cloud hosting provider.

After defining these two platforms in detail, let us now move on to the differences between them that will be explained in the form of answers to frequently asked questions.

How soon can I access online resources?

When it concerns a dedicated server, the time taken to access online resources can run into several weeks. But with cloud computing, you have the advantage of accessing online resources within minutes.

Is it possible to update RAM, CPU and disk space?

Both the platforms allow you to upgrade your hardware requirements. However, the difference lies in the convenience and turnaround time. It is a matter of a few clicks before you can upgrade your RAM or CPU, through an API automated cloud server.

But it is not the case with a dedicated server. Upgrading your dedicated server hardware calls for manual processing along with a need to follow a procedure specified by a maintenance window.

What about Cost effectiveness and High Availability?

A high availability (HA) environment built on the cloud leads to a 60% saving when compared to the cost of hosting your website on a dedicated server. With multiple cloud servers available, the time taken to configure a HA environment and a load balancer happens within a couple of minutes.

As a sharp contrast, this is not the case with a dedicated server. Notwithstanding the fact that you can request for a HA environment through multiple dedicated servers, the completion of this process might be time consuming. You need to wait anywhere between a couple of hours to even days before the new build on a dedicated server is fully operational.

Are there automated tools that I can access?

Performing the functions of auto management, auto-provisioning and auto-scaling is convenient through cloud computing. These are the tools that can be accessed via the open development API community. However, such tools though available with the dedicated environment require the efforts of vendors to customize these tools before you can implement them.

How easily can I perform segmentation of resources at a low cost?

When it comes to cloud computing, you have the luxury of segmenting your resources based on their functions. Allowing you to easily scale up your resources, a cloud computing execution model allows efficient management of resources and their compartmentalization at an affordable cost. But with a dedicated server, it is an expensive affair to initiate resource compartmentalization.

Which platform is best for stringent security and compliance needs?

If you are keen on superior data security, then a dedicated server can be your top bet. A complete compliance to security regulations is a differentiating characteristic in favor of dedicated hardware; a conspicuous advantage absent in cloud computing.

Is mobile monitoring of both the servers possible?

It is a matter of convenience to be able to manage your cloud servers via your iOS or Android mobiles. But this feature is absent in a dedicated server which calls for a manual management of the server and its hardware.

Can I utilize the dual benefits of a cloud and a dedicated server?

As a response to the query whether it is possible to run both the servers in one environment, the emergence of a hybrid technology demands a special mention. Leading to the concept of a hybrid cloud, it is though this innovative technique that you can experience the best of both the worlds.

A public cloud which is best suited for non-critical operations can go in tandem with a private cloud which can be applied for business-specific functions. Both these in turn will lead to the emergence of a platform which is not only flexible and agile but also cost-effective.